I am really digging this post not only for its goal of training to pitch, but that it stresses approaching random people in a friendly, non-intrusive manner. I know I don't do this enough and I'm sure others have issues with it.
My Inner Cynic says: "great idea!" might be a way of trying to get rid of people in the easiest way possible, since it doesn't cost anything? Maybe not, but if you have nothing to lose because you're just some random guy who wants to disengage as quickly as possible, it might be easier than arguing about why it's a bad idea, especially since you don't really care.
Yeah, that's exactly my point. While I don't necessarily think they were trying to get rid of me, I don't think they really understood the pitch. So that's one of the signs to look for - if they just say, "That's great, good job!", you're probably not engaging them. If they grill you a little bit further, then they're at least slightly interested in the idea, and they've understood the majority of it.
One point of the starbucks pitch is quantity over quality. You may get a lot of people who will kindly blow you off, but you're not paying for any of it, so you can continually practice until you can engage any of them with an interesting pitch.
I love this idea, but I'm not clear on the goal. Are you looking for feedback on the idea or are you only trying to improve the way you talk about the idea? If someone quickly understands what you're doing but thinks it sucks, did you succeed or fail?
Once (if) I've succeeded in making myself clear, I think I might trying asking explicitly what the 'pitchee' thinks is wrong or could go wrong with the idea. Oftentimes people need to be prompted to give negative feedback. To friends I just say, "What sucks about this idea?"
Finally, people are surprisingly game for things that are out of the ordinary. I don't think you need to lie about what you're doing so long as you're friendly and clear. "Hi, I'm Joshua Paine. I'm working on an idea for a business, and I'd like to practice pitching it to you to get an outside opinion. I'm not trying to sell you anything, I'd just like your thoughts." Or something like that.
Good feedback. We'll be going back out for the second round soon, so I'll try it without any subterfuge, and update the post with the results. My previous experience tells me people usually take pretty kindly to an student, but I'm all for mixing it up.
As for the results, I'm not too worried that the pitchee likes/dislikes the idea. It's all warm fuzzies if they do, and of course the more people you can interest with a pitch the btter, but they're not likely your target market. It's more important to simply watch their face for emotional changes (especially boredom) and gauge your ability from that.
Also, bringing your cofounders and critical friends along is where the real negative feedback comes from. People generally aren't going to be familiar with your domain to give much meaningful commentary, but your cofounders are imagining you pitching to investors or (in our case) potential users at a entrepreneur's meetup. With that context in mind, their feedback is golden.
Reminds me of "information interviewing" from "What Color is your Parachute" (job-hunting guide). Part of the aim there is to just get comfortable with talking to strangers.
I love those two old guys. It's also like you've given them something, like a freebie sample of a new product.
> People are a bit kinder if they think you're a student rather than an nosy salesperson
I don't think it harms anyone, but perhaps it's a bit dishonest. I'll go back to trying it the other way and see if I can't get the same level of kind interest.
Seems like an excellent idea, although some people might consider it a bit weird when you tell them about it.
It's funny how many things seem "weird" to "normal people" (try explaining to your non-entrepreneur friends that you went and practiced your pitch in Starbucks...), but are highly effective at actually getting results...
Well, even my co-founder thought it was a bit strange. But after the first day, he was hooked. It's like crowd-sourced business coaching - it might not be top notch but it's perfect for a bootstrapped startup's budget.
Unless patronizing a Starbucks is a good indicator that someone is a prospect, I would try a method that brought me into contact with prospects. If "everyone" is your prospect you may want to narrow your focus. If you need help overcoming painful shyness I would recommend Toastmasters or Dale Carnegie.
Love the starbucks idea. What my friends from U of Waterloo do is pitch the idea to a very open economics prof (L. Smith) that gives highly critical feedback (tone, speed, size of market place, range of execution).
Having a private network of experienced people to give feedback in a sandbox environment is wonderful. High quality, specifically targeted feedback - it's a dream for a startup.
Unfortunately, not everyone will have that network to tap. Starbucks serves as a lower-quality, but still effective practice ground. The only catch is, critical feedback on tone, speed, etc. is going to come from your cofounders more than your audience.
